Description
While this website has become known for its in-depth album and concert reviews,
the digest contains concise comments on new music our audience has either recommended
or might enjoy. Click on album covers or label names for links to further information.
Click on the title to view the article.

(20 November 2012) Nadina's Legbanese roots ring through in her first full length offering, a stunning twelve-track 55-minute album, entitled In The Now (Nettwerk Entertainment (CA) - 6700 30964 2 3, 2012). While the artist has been recording on and off since 2007, she was recognized by her current label in 2008 when work on In The Now began in earnest.

At Nettwerk's recommendation, Nadina also connected with Delerium and has now been a featured vocalist on the two tracks "Monarch" and "Awakening" (iTunes bonus track) from Music Box Opera, their latest release. Enthusiasts will also be familiar with the incredible "Shou Baddou Yseer" EP Nadine released almost concurrently with Delerium's first single from the new album "Monarch" also featuring her vocals. Indeed, Nadina's time has come.

While arrangements include both original and electric production, Nadina sings in English, Lebanese, Egyptian, and Classical Arabic on the record and distills a variety of textures and moods into her music. The sounds are certain to appeal to enthusiasts of Delerium, Conjure One, Balligomingo and others. The twelve-track CD is adorned with lovely silkscreening and the artwork includes a lush 16-page booklet with full lyrics.

Nadina's life story is certainly as interesting as her music. Her fiance is Canadian swimmer, Brent Hayden who won the Olympic Bronze in the 100m freestyle. Nadina has an interesting story, having fled with her family from Lebanon, as a child. Read more about Nadina in our exclusive interview and in the biography at her own website.

In 1986, Nadina became the first child from Lebanon and the Arab world to every participate in the Zecchino D'oro UNICEF festival in Italy. The contest required particpants to perform a song of their choosing translated into Italian without any prior knowledge of the language. Delivering a powerful rendition of "Vola, Palombella" [Fly Bird of Peace] to a television audience of over 25 million worldwide, judges awarded the young singer a gold medal, and the song became something of an international phenomenon. Instantly, her voice stood out, and she swiftly embraced the stage at charity concerts and functions across her native Lebanon and internationally.

Arrangements on Nadina's album are lush and laced with vocal layers provided by producer Michael Fadel and vocalist Christie Smith. These arrangements add texture and feel to the individual tracks and also add to the overall magic of the album. Nadina has a powerful and crystalline voice that dominates the lyrical passages most effectively.

About her style, she comments, "It's an amalgamation of North American and Middle Eastern sounds. I wanted to merge classical Arabic strings/instruments and modern Western beats. I tried to bridge all of these styles so the music doesn't lean far one way or the other."

"Sorrows & Goodbyes" directly delves into Nadina's childhood and the war surrounding her. It's an intense, yet invigorating track colored by the Nay flute and Nadina's vibrand lyrical storytelling as she croons, "Flashbacks of the war appear in dreams."

"It's about my experiences in the war," she reveals. "I wrote the song so it could apply to other people's experiences as well. It brings me back to that time, specifically when I could feel the bombing. When I'd perform back then, I could feel what was going on oursite. The song also reflects on others who had to fight and how many people lost their loved ones."

From turmoil to love, the record traverses a scope of emotions as diverse as the soundscapes themselves. Never losing sight of both of her homes,
Nadina will even release separate versions of the album worldwide. Ultimately, Nadina crosses both cultural and aural barriers and creates something entirely her own with this debut.